


And the Sky Above Us

by slash4femme



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Between Seasons/Series, Character Study, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fake Science, Kissing, M/M, Old Married Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 09:24:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7885597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slash4femme/pseuds/slash4femme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Earth Spock and McCoy work to find a cure for a planet wide epidemic while Spock reflects on his relationship with McCoy and himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And the Sky Above Us

**Author's Note:**

> Written for TOS Spones Challenge. This fic takes place shortly before Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country with references to the events of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine.

I.

He has a ritual, one he's performed everyday for years.

 

He gets back to his house or quarters, changes out of his uniform into a pair of Vulcan robes, brews himself a cup of tea, meditates while it steeps and drinks it.

 

It's a simple enough ritual, but important for the balance it brings him.

 

Once, when he was very young he'd thought that a greater sense of balance would come with age. That it would be the fruit born from many decades of study and dedication to the traditional Vulcan teachings he had been raised with.

 

He's older now, but balance still feels as elusive as the fog that tends to creep across their garden from the San Francisco bay in the early morning hours. The fog clings heavily to his robes and skin when he stands on the patio and drinks his tea in the mornings. Sometimes it is so thick he can't see more than an arm's length in front of him.

 

It is like that for him too often now, shrouded and only able to see the path forward an arm's length at a time. He accepts this because doing anything else would be illogical but still ... it is difficult.

 

Now he lifts his cup of evening tea, strains out the leaves, breathes in the stream for a moment and takes a sip.

 

The door to the house slides open with a soft chime and Spock hears McCoy sigh, the rustle as he undoes his uniform jacket, and sits on the bench in the hall to pull off his boots.

 

He takes another sip of tea.

 

McCoy comes into the living room where Spock sits, walks over to his armchair and relaxes into it with another pained sigh. "So how was work?"

 

Spock sets his cup aside. If he didn't want to talk he would have meditated in his rooms and they both know that. "It was acceptable."

 

"How are those treaty negotiations going?"

 

Spock doesn't bother answering this, since the answer should be obvious and McCoy doesn't push it.

 

"Didn't you say you were working with your father on this?"

 

Spock reaches back for his tea, lifts it and takes a sip, sets it back down. "I am."

 

"So I'm guessing things are still not good between the two of you." McCoy pushes himself back up and headed for the kitchen. "I'm going to start dinner, any preferences or should I make what I want for a change?"

 

"Make whatever you like." Spock said. He listens to McCoy walk into the kitchen and start opening cupboards and the refrigerating unit.

 

He thinks about what McCoy had said about Sarek. It is illogical that they should not be able to work together, so they do work together. It is illogical that they should hold each other responsible for what happened with Sybok so as far as Spock can tell Sarek does not.

 

But Spock is half human, the path of pure logic will never be fully his to travel, and he cannot forget what Sybok did, what Sarek didn't do nor does he wish to. None of this changes that Sarek is his father. It doesn't change that they must work together, so they will. Like so many other things since Sybok though working with Sarek has not been without difficulty.

 

"Spock?" McCoy ducked back through the doorway that separated the kitchen from the living room. "Come help me chop vegetables. I'm willing to cook vegetarian in the house but I'm not doing it by myself."

 

"Of course." Spock stood and took his cup with him into the kitchen.

 

II.

When the report comes from the _USS Fearless_ Spock is in a meeting with the President. It's a planet wide emergency call back to the Federation. Boris XII is suffering a catastrophic pandemic, highly contagious for humanoid lifeforms and unlike anything in the federation databases.

 

The captain of the _USS Fearless_ lays this out with a commendable calm considering the fact that he had lost his entire away party to the disease already.

 

Boris XII had been unstable with no centralized planet-wide government prior to the pandemic and had descended into chaos since. The _Fearless_ does provide footage from the planet's surface and the room goes silent as the footage plays. More than one person looks away after a few moments.

 

Spock watches it all the way through, tries to commit every detail he can to memory. When the footage ends the president looks chalky pale.

 

"Send a message back to the Fearless." He says. "The Federation will provide all the aid we can."

 

"The planet as well as the USS Fearless will need to be quarantined, we cannot risk the spread of this disease to others." Sarek says, the president nods expression and grim and turns away towards his desk, no doubt to make the necessary arrangements.

 

Everyone else files out, the meetings for the day have been canceled. Spock leaves Sarek and headed for Starfleet headquarters. There will be planning meetings to coordinate both the quarantine and the relief effort, Spock will be needed there.

 

Most of the Starfleet high command is already gathering for an emergency meeting. Spock sees McCoy across the room head bent close to another high ranking medical officer. Kirk is also there scanning a map of every starships' known location. Spock comes over to stand beside him.

 

"The USS Excelsior is the obvious choice to escort relief personnel between the quarantined zone and the federation." Spock observes and Kirk nods.

 

"I was just thinking that myself. Fast, but also large and powerful enough to protect a convoy and I know Sulu can think on his feet."

 

"We will also need starships to enforce the quarantine zone."

 

"Maybe the Intrepid and Exeter. They're already close."  Kirk shakes his head and studies the map again.

 

"The USS Yorktown may also be a possibility." Spock steeples his fingers together as he thinks, weighing crew size, ships speeds, possible fire power, current location and as many possible scenarios as the known facts allow.

 

"We're going to need to keep that planet quarantined." McCoy comes to stand between the two of them and lowers his voice. "I've seen the reports' from the Fearless' medical staff, it doesn't look good. I can't imagine what would happen if this thing spreads."

 

"A multi-planetary epidemic." Spock says. "There are very few records of such an occurrence."

 

"There's a reason for that Spock." McCoy surveys the star map, expression grim. "Can't be any reports if there's no survivors."

 

Kirk sucks in a breath. "We'll make sure the quarantine holds. You and the other Starfleet medical staff find a cure for this Bones. A treatment. Something."

 

McCoy doesn't answer just frowned harder at the starmap.

 

Behind them a chime sounds signally the beginning of their official briefing and strategy session. The three of them turn and head towards their designated seats at the long conference table.

 

III.

Spock does not see McCoy again for the next four days.

 

McCoy is a member of the team of medical specialists assigned the task of studying the disease and working on a treatment.

 

Spock is assisting with the coordination of not only the quarantine but also with charting the path the medical convoys will take once a treatment has been discovered. There is also the fact that Boris XII is not a member of the Federation. Thus there are diplomatic steps that must be taken to assure the various planetary leaders that the Federation only seeks to offer aid not take over their increasingly unstable planet. There is also the fact that while the leaders of Boris XII could turn down the help from the Federation doing so or breaking the quarantine would put Federation personnel and possibly Federation planets at risk. So the situation is complex and will need to be handled carefully.

 

More reports come in. The conditions on Boris XII only worsen. The spread of the disease is causing panic, chaos and violence across the planet's surface. Boris XII does have the capacity for space travel although they have yet to develop warp. The starships sent to enforce the quarantine have had to turn back ships desperately trying to flee to neighboring planets. They have had to fire on three such ships, seriously damaging one although with no reported casualties.   

 

Spock doesn't sleep and he does not go back to their house. He does meditate a few minutes at a time in order to renew his energy and clear his mind. There is also a Vulcan cadet who brings him tea as he works.

 

On the fifth day they have made sufficient progress that he allows himself to go back to the house to sleep and meditate more fully.

 

McCoy is not there and it does not appear he's been back since the first report from the _USS Fearless_. Spock, showers, changes and meditates until he drifts off to sleep.

 

When he wakes he can hear the clear sounds of McCoy moving around in the main room. He stands, drawing his robes around himself and opens the door the separated his private rooms from their main room.

 

The space is littered with PADDs and McCoy has dragged two huge display boards into the space. One board displays three dimensional renderings of various molecular compounds and DNA samples and the other is covered with mathematical equations.

 

McCoy sits on the edge of the coffee table among the PADDs, legs crossed at the ankles, still in uniform but with the jacket unfastened. He has the dark shadow of stubble across his jaw and circles under his eyes that tell Spock he hasn't slept.

 

Spock frowns slightly; as a Vulcan he can survive for extended periods without sleep but McCoy is human and cannot.

 

"Leonard you should sleep." Spock steps into the room.

 

McCoy looks up at him, just blinks for a moment before waving away Spock's comment. "I just need coffee."

 

Spock surveys the boards and then the PADDs. McCoy had always kept an immaculately and organized lab, and his office aboard the _Enterprise_ had been sparse and neat as per regulations. Since they'd lived together on Earth though Spock had come to realize McCoy was not naturally organized or tidy when he worked. His office within their house was often piled with PADDs and cluttered with objects that Spock could not imagine McCoy actually needing but were kept there nonetheless.  

 

Spock steeples his fingers together. "I was not aware Doctor that you were the only one assigned to this project."

 

McCoy raises his eyebrows at Spock, lips quirking into the faintest hint of a smile but says only. "They told me to go home. Kicked me out of my own lab. Jim said he'd sit on me if I didn't leave and get some rest."

 

Spock crosses the room, clears off another space on the coffee table and sits next to McCoy. For several minutes he takes his time and studies the work McCoy had done.

 

"It mutates." He says and McCoy nods.

 

"Like the common cold. If having a cold killed you within a few hours after contracting it."

 

"Fascinating."

 

McCoy snorted. "That's one word for it, although I'd use terrifying myself. It's one of the most contagious disease I've ever seen." He rubbed his hand across his forehead and then his eyes. Spock shifted a little so he could look at him.

  
"Doctor, would you be willing to rest if I continued to work on this?"

 

"Damn do I look that bad?" McCoy gave him a small smile and then sighed. "I can't Spock, every time I stop, I think about all those people trapped on that God forsaken planet."

 

Spock reached out and laid his hand on McCoy's arm. "You must sleep Leonard if you are to continue to function."

 

"I know." McCoy scrubbed a hand across his eyes again. "I'm just worried what I'll dream about if I do."

 

"Sleep here." Spock pointed to the couch, before standing. "I will also stay and work."

 

McCoy's eyebrows rose, "what would be the point of sleeping out here? Are you planning on chasing away my bad dreams?"

 

"If you sleep here you will be free to resume work when you wake for whatever reason."

 

Spock knew what it was to wake from all too real memories, to claw his way up out of the darkness. There had been nights when not even meditation could calm his thoughts after. Work though; the familiar rhythm of scientific journal article and Starfleet reports sometimes could bring him a little bit of peace.

 

He turned away from McCoy now, focusing on the numbers and not allowing their gazes to meet. "I have observed that turning one's mind to a issue of logical reasoning can help in these sorts of situations."

 

There is a long silence and then McCoy says "Yeah," voice half resigned but with a little bit of affection there too. Spock turns back around to see him pulling off his boots and shucking his uniform jacket to the floor.

 

He curls up on the couch while Spock turns his full attention to the formulas and simulations McCoy had already been working on.

 

"You know if you have trouble sleeping you can always ask me for a sleep aid." McCoy says after a moment.

  
"I am aware of that since you are my doctor."

 

There is another silence and then McCoy says. "Maybe we should start sleeping together."

 

That makes Spock turn towards, eyebrows raised. "I was under the impression we already were."

 

McCoy rolls his eyes and turns to lie on his back, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm not talking about sex Spock, I'm talking about sleeping in the same room. I know we agreed that we need space and it would be better for you to have your own rooms and me to have mine. Especially since we were already used to that from being on the ship and all. But maybe it would be better to have someone there, if you're having trouble sleeping."

 

Spock takes a moment to think about this and consider it before shaking his head. "Thank you for the offer Leonard but it's not necessarily."

 

"Probably not." McCoy agrees "but I'd be willing to do it if it would help." His expression softens, the affection returning. "I know things have been tough for you since we got back to Earth."

 

Spock moves and sits on the edge of the couch, in the space next to McCoy's narrow hips. "Sybok." He says and his brother's name is heavy in his mouth. "He should have been dealt with a long time ago, on Vulcan. It was my father's position that protected him and my father's pride."

 

McCoy reaches up, cups Spock's cheek, smiles wryly up at him. "To want things to have turned out differently is illogical Spock, you know that. He's dead and you did everything you could."

 

Spock knows that's not true, as he knows that killing Sybok when he had the chance was not only the most logical action but the one which would have protected his crewmates and his ship. He'd turned his back on both his Vulcan teachings and his duty to Starfleet in that moment, the consequences of that, logical or not, is something he will have to live with for the rest of his life. McCoy is right though, he can't change the past. Instead he closes his eyes and leans into McCoy's touch and the warmth of his palm just for a moment before pulling back.

  
"Go to sleep Leonard. We'll speak of this again later."

 

They're silent again, Spock stands and moved back over to the boards. After a moment McCoy pushes himself up and stands with a groan. "Going to give myself a sleep aid." He says and heads for his own rooms.

 

Spock half expects him not to return but after a few minutes McCoy comes back into the room a blanket folded over one arm and lays back down on the couch.  

 

"Wake me if you make any progress." McCoy yawns, turns over on the couch and after a few moments Spock hears his breath even out in sleep.

 

Spock makes himself a cup of tea and begins work on what McCoy had started. The ideas laid out are are simple but far from straightforward, elegant even. McCoy had been taking into account to just what might theoretically treat the disease but what could also be practically manufactured in as short a time as possible and then administered to an entire planet of the sick and dying. Spock doesn't anticipate that they will find an answer to these problems tonight, but he still attempts to be of assistance as much as he can.

 

Even with the sleep aid McCoy sleeps restlessly but he doesn't wake so Spock lets him be.

 

In the very early hours of the morning, when the sky is still as dark as it ever is stretched out above San Francisco Spock makes himself a new cup of tea. He waves open the glass door that divides the main room from the garden and steps out into the cool night air. He stares up at the sky, at the lights he knows are space stations, dry docks, and starships passing across the sky. Further still that are the actual stars, not any of the ones he's personally seen of course, this is old light ancient even.

 

Spock takes a sip of his tea. Somewhere above him is Vulcan, Boris XII, the many dozens of worlds he has been to, so many more he will never had the chance to explore. There are starships there, deep in space, pushing further than any of them have ever gone, their crews knowing full well that to explore the unknown is to very possibly never return.

 

There is an illogical quality to that work. Vulcans believe in exploration for scientific or diplomatic ends but not exploration for its own sake. It is a very human thing to reach out beyond the stars, hoping -- believing -- there will be others reaching back. It is, Spock has always thought, a worthy impulse, if not a logical one, and now he thinks there maybe a beauty in it as well.

 

To boldly go forward in faith.

 

He lets his eyes drift shut, listens to the sound of the city at night, the night air is heavy with the scent of the peach trees McCoy had planted in their garden. He can hear the sound of insects in the trees as well, the sound of the leaves rustling in the breeze.  

 

Behind him McCoy stirs on the couch, turns over, and Spock takes the rest of his tea back inside.

 

McCoy has kicked his blanket off, curls on his side, arms around himself protectively. Spock sits beside him and reaches to covers him back up again. McCoy uncurls just a little but doesn't wake. Spock passes his hand over McCoy's head, just to touch and comfort perhaps though which of them he doesn't know. From his rooms comes the chime of his terminal and he goes to answer it.

 

There is a message from Starfleet headquarters with an update on the progress of the diplomatic mission to Boris XII. He sends several messages from the computer terminal in his rooms.

 

When he steps back out into the main room McCoy is sitting up on the couch. He yawns and rubs a hand across the stubble along his jaw. "Any word?"

 

"The remaining leaders of Boris XII have agreed to allow the Federation to aid them." Spock tucks his hands into the sleeves of his robe. "Although the situation on the planet remains volatile and they are contesting our right to quarantine."

 

McCoy nods, stands and stretches wincing a little. "That's only to be expected with so many panicky people on the surface."

 

Spock pauses watching McCoy, notes that McCoy still looking tired and in need of a shower and shave. Under the weight of Spock's gaze McCoy's hand drifts up to his chin and absently rubbing the stubble there.

 

"I should change, before going back to the labs." McCoy's gaze meets his "You getting an early start too?"

 

"Yes, I am expected back in one standard hour." Spock says and McCoy nods turning towards the hall that lead to his own rooms.

 

Spock moves then to intercept him, putting a hand lightly on McCoy's shoulder. When McCoy turns to him Spock offers him two fingers in a Vulcan kiss. McCoy's gaze go soft and he steps closer, slips one arm around Spock's waist and then traces Spock's fingers with his own.

 

For a moment they look at each other and then McCoy leans forward, rests his forehead against Spock's shoulder, body relaxing against Spock, letting Spock's arms take his weight.

 

"We will find away." Spock says and McCoy snorts against the cloth of his robes.

 

"Such faith." McCoy straightens back up and smiles, more than a little bit tired and sad but there is real humor as well. "Not very logical of you Spock."

 

Spock things of Jim and all the other human's he's served with. His mind goes to Sybok and Sarek too but he doesn't linger there this time. Instead he thinks of his mother and the way McCoy looks after so many days of working to save a planet worth of people he will in all likelihood never meet. "I think logic is a beginning but it is not necessarily the end I once thought it was. Without faith that our actions do and must matter, even given the vastness of the universe and of time itself, logic has no purpose."

 

McCoy stairs at him for a second and Spock wonders if, after all these years, he's actually surprised McCoy enough to render him speechless. Then McCoy long fingers are gripping his chin, drawing his face down, gently but firmly McCoy kisses him in the human way this time, lips against lips. Spock lets McCoy pull him close, wrap him up in warm possessive arms. He cups the back of McCoy's head and returns the kiss with equal passion. When the kiss ends McCoy traces light touches across Spock's face, along the curve of cheekbones and jaw, then down to his hands where he strokes across the backs, until Spock shudders. For several long minutes they just touch and then Spock pulls away.

 

"My presence is required at Starfleet headquarters." He straightens his robes and McCoy smiles.

 

"Yeah I need to get going too, but after this is all over we'll be talking about this epiphany of yours again." He reaches out, fists curling in Spock's robes and pulls him close for another, although this time brief, kiss. "A nice long talk this time."

 

He gives Spock another smile and heads down the hall towards his rooms. Spock watches him go for a moment and then turns towards his own quarters.

 

It's not an epiphany, it's a road Spock has been on for a very long time. McCoy is right though, they will need to speak of this again, later.

 

IV.

He is just stepping out of a meeting when a young Vulcan aid greets him and informs him that there is a  message from Doctor McCoy marked urgent on his terminal.

 

He lengthens his stride until he can catch up with Kirk further down the hall. "I will not be able to accompany you to this next meeting, Doctor McCoy has left me a message and I may be needed elsewhere."

 

Kirk nods. "Don't worry, I'll make excuses for you."

 

Spock raises his eyebrows but doesn't point out that no excuses should be needed where the truth would be perfectly adequate explanation. Instead he turns and head down the hall to his office.

 

McCoy looks haggard and a little frantic when he appears on the screen. "I think my team has cracked it, but I can't be sure. There's not enough time to test the damn thing beyond minimum safety procedures. Most of the testing will take place on whatever ship gets convoy duty but I'm not going to ship something off that won't work." He drums his fingers against the table top. "I need you to come look at this and make sure we haven't all gone mad."

 

The message ended and Spock blinked at the dark screen for a moment before pushing himself up from the desk.

 

The labs where McCoy's team is working at the top of the Starfleet's main medical facility. It is in security lockdown but Spock has the clearance necessarily to get inside with minimal fuss.

 

When he finds the lab they're working in McCoy is passing back and forth while most of the other doctors and scientists, many of whom are young enough to be McCoy's students, hang back and watch. They seem to be waiting on some sort of test results and ignore Spock completely. McCoy all but lunges at the computer as soon as it beeps.

 

Spock crosses the room to read the results as well. McCoy shifts just enough to let him see without taking his eyes off the screen.

 

"Interesting." Spock straightens up when he's sure he's grasped what exactly it is he's seen and looks around the room, notes rank and nods to the next highest after McCoy. "I will need to be briefed."

 

"Of course Captain Spock." The doctor stepped forward smartly and began a rapid fire report of their progress so far.

 

When the young doctor came to the end of his brief McCoy straightened up with a grunt. "We could move forward with this."

 

Spock studied him, he'd seen McCoy do this many times before, come up with solutions where most would see impossibility, often without time or resources on his side. Usually McCoy radiated a decisive calm stemming from his ability to deduce when he'd made the best decision he could make under the circumstances. Now though he is anything but calm as he paces the room again.

 

Spock turned back to the young medical officer."Doctor, please explain for me the tests you have already performed in as much detail as you can."

 

The medical officer's gaze slides to McCoy for a moment and McCoy waves his hand. "Fill Captain Spock in, Mandoza. I called him down here because Spock has more experience working on these kinds of problem than most of Starfleet combined besides we could all use the outside perspective, as it were."

 

Doctor Mandoza nodded and then walked over to one of the computer banks calling up information onto one of the wide screens for them all to see before launching into her explanation.  

 

Spock listens and watches the logic of the research unfold, sees how every possible contingency has been taken into account. When Doctor Mandoza has finished, Spock takes her place at the computer and goes back over the data.

 

"And these are all the tests you've run?"

 

McCoy grunts. "Every simulation we can, plus we've tested samples the Fearless sent back to us. The only thing we haven't done is test it on actual patients of course, but I've been told there are volunteers waiting. All possibly infected crew members of the Fearless have volunteered and there are Boris XII natives who have volunteered as well, if we can get to them in time."

 

That last thought hangs heavily in the room.

 

Spock turns back to the computer and keeps working, while McCoy paces behind him. When he is sure, of his answer he straightens up from the computer.

 

"I find your logic and research to be sound. There is no reason that I can detect why the therapy you have laid out here should not work." He meets McCoy's gaze, watches as McCoy's shoulders straighten and he stands a little straighter.

 

McCoy nods to Spock once and then turns to the rest of the assembled doctors. "You heard Captain Spock if we're also confident with this proposed treatment we need to make our pitch to Starfleet brass so this can be on the fastest ship out as soon as possible."  

 

The lab bursts into frantic activity, McCoy too busying himself at a computer terminal. Spock waits to see if his presence will be needed further but when it's obvious that he will be more hindrance than help here, he lets himself back out into the hall and goes to find Kirk.

 

V.

Much later, Spock finally allows himself to return to their house.

 

McCoy is already there in the backyard, uniform jacket pulled open, face tipped back to study the wide expanse of cloudless blue sky above them.

 

"Leonard" Spock says and that makes McCoy turn to look at him. Spock crosses the distance between them and puts his arms around McCoy's waist so that McCoy's back is pressed against his front. They stand there for a moment, taking in their small patch of earth, the city beyond it, and the sky.

 

"We did it." McCoy says finally, "Or at least, we've done all we can, now comes the hard part, we wait."

 

Spock doesn't reply to this just waits several seconds before saying, "It is unlike you to question your abilities and the abilities of your team."

 

McCoy laughs although there's very little humor to it and then sighs. "Getting old, I'm not cut out to do this anymore Spock. One of these days I'm going to make a mistake and it'll cost all of us when I do."  

 

Spock weighs these words carefully "I do not think this is true Leonard, I think you know your skills and your limitations well enough that when you question them you will reach out to others who you trust, as you did with me. Your team is also well trained, some of the best medical officers in Starfleet and it is not in a Starfleet officers' training to blindly follow orders."

 

"Your right." McCoy leans more heavily against him. "I know you are, but still, I'm tired Spock. I can't do this forever."

 

"No, none of us can. That is the nature of things."

 

"I'd like to retire, God knows I've tried enough times. I just don't seem to know how to make it stick or how to break it to Jim."

 

"Jim has mentioned to me that he might seek retirement soon as well."

 

"Yeah but Jim says that and then something happens and he doesn't." McCoy sighed again. "I mean it this time Spock. No more Starfleet, Hell maybe no more teaching even, just you, me, the grandkids, and some time to catch up on my reading."

 

"If that is what will make you happy." Spock says and let's his hand find McCoy, twines their fingers together. "When my own Starfleet career ends I will join my father as an ambassador."

 

"Yeah I know, we'll need to stay here or even move to Vulcan, God help me, but I made my peace with that a long time ago. Not like you're going to up and move to Georgia." McCoy's voice has no heat in it although at one point in their lives they might have fought over this.

 

"The most senior officers aboard the Enterprise will be offered retirement within the standard year." Spock tells him although as yet the information is still confidential. "There will be certain ... measures taken is certain officers fight it this time."

 

"Those measures better include a crowbar," McCoy says, "I swear Spock he's going to die in a Captain's uniform and there is nothing I'm going to be able to do about it." He's silent for a moment and then Spock feels McCoy's shoulders move as a chuckles. "But for me though it can't come soon enough. I don't think Scotty will say no either or Uhura, not with that teaching job she has. Said she was going to write a book too, last time we talked. So it's time for a lot of us I think."

 

Above them the sun is setting, the sky going gold and orange before fading to the warm, darker colors of evening.

 

"We should make dinner." Spock slowly lets go of McCoy and took a step back. "There will be reports waiting for both of us by now and meeting tomorrow."

 

He turns to talk back to the house but McCoy stays where he is, still watching the sunset.

 

"You know Spock, when you said logic was the beginning but not the end? What brought that on?" McCoy turns to look him and Spock pauses in the doorway.

 

"After the fal-tor-pan when I was retraining my mind, the computer asked me a question, the only question I did not have an answer for. It ask asked me 'how did you feel?' At first I did not understand why the question was included. My mother however pointed out that I am half human."

 

"That's true, but it's never stopped you before."

 

Spock inclines his head in recognition. "Nevertheless it is true."

 

McCoy silent for a moment and then he smiles, wide and bright and includes his head in a small imitation of Spock's own movements. "Well glad to hear you finally admit it."

 

Spock only raises his eyebrows. "Come inside Leonard."

  
He stretched on hand out and still smiling McCoy stepped close to take it.


End file.
